Horseback riding along the coast: Seeing this beautiful country from the back of a well-trained and seasoned Lusitano is a rewarding experience, but some of the best opportunities can be enjoyed along the Atlantic Ocean beach. Some of the best tours are available through the American company Equitour. In addition to beach walks, the company offers trekking through olive groves, vineyards, pine forests and lagoons.
 
Enjoying Manueline architecture: Manuelino - as he is known in Portuguese - marked a dramatic artistic change from the late Gothic style prevalent during the reign of King Dom Manuel. It mixes Christian motifs with shells, strings and strange water forms and is usually crowned with heraldic or religious symbols. The best example is the great Jeronimos Monastery in Belém, on the outskirts of Lisbon, dating from the 16th century. Another prominent example is the mysterious and astrological views of the famous window of the Convent of the Order of Christ in Tomar, the Templar bastion in ancient times.
 
Visiting the Lost Continent of Atlantis: One of the most unusual travel experiences in Europe is a trip to the Azores. Mythologists believe that the remote Portuguese islands in the middle of the Atlantic are the only remnants of the lost continent of Atlantis. For hundreds of years they were considered the end of the earth, the outer limits of the European sphere of influence, beyond which ships could not go. Even today they are a verdant but lonely archipelago where ocean winds meet, cyclones call each other and urban dwellers can get lost in contact with the sea.
 
Paying a call on Berlenga Island: Berlenga is a granite island 11 km (7 miles) west of the Portuguese coast. The island has always been the first line of defense against sea invaders. In 1666, 28 Portuguese tried to resist 1,500 Spaniards who bombed the site of 15 ships. A battle-torn medieval fortress was rebuilt several decades later and today houses a no-frills hostel. The entire island and the surrounding rocky and uninhabited archipelago are a designated nature reserve whose flora and fauna - above and below the sea surface - are protected from development and destruction. Boat transport departs from the Peniche peninsula, 92 km (57 miles) north of Lisbon.
 
"Beyond the Mountains": The northernmost district of Trás-os-Montes is a wild, rugged land whose name means "beyond the mountains". The exploration of this region provides a glimpse of a Portugal rarely seen by outsiders. Most of the population lives in deep valleys, often in traditional shale or granite houses, and speaks a Galician dialect similar to that spoken across the border in northwest Spain. Much of the plateau is barren and rocky, but fast rivers and streams provide water for irrigation, and hot springs have bubbled out of the earth since at least Roman times. You can drive through these wild landscapes, but dont expect super highways. What you will find are ruins of fortresses,

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